Bio

Alyssa Ayres is senior fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). At CFR she conducts two projects, one focused on India’s role in the world, and one on the new geopolitics of China, India, and Pakistan. In 2015, she served as the project director for the CFR-sponsored Independent Task Force on U.S.-India Relations. She directs the U.S. Relations with South Asia Roundtable series, blogs regularly for Asia Unbound, and is a contributor to Forbes.com. She is writing a book about India’s rise on the world stage.

Ayres served previously as deputy assistant secretary of state for South Asia from 2010 to 2013, covering all issues across a dynamic region of 1.3 billion people (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka) and providing policy direction for four U.S. embassies and four consulates. Originally trained as a cultural historian, Ayres has experience in the nonprofit, government, and private sectors, and she has carried out research on both India and Pakistan.

Prior to serving in the Obama administration, Ayres was founding director of the India and South Asia practice at McLarty Associates, the Washington-based international strategic advisory firm, from 2008 to 2010. Immediately prior, she served in the U.S. Department of State as special assistant to the undersecretary for political affairs as a CFR international affairs fellow. Prior to that she worked in the nonprofit sector at the Center for the Advanced Study of India at the University of Pennsylvania, and at the Asia Society in New York.

Her book on nationalism, culture, and politics in Pakistan, Speaking Like a State, was published worldwide by Cambridge University Press in 2009, and received the American Institute of Pakistan Studies book prize for 2011–2012. She has coedited three books on India and Indian foreign policy: Power Realignments in Asia, India Briefing: Takeoff at Last?, and India Briefing: Quickening the Pace of Change. Ayres has been awarded numerous fellowships and has received four group or individual Superior Honor Awards for work at the State Department. She speaks fluent Hindi and Urdu, and in the mid-1990s worked as an interpreter for the International Committee of the Red Cross. She received an AB magna cum laude from Harvard College, and an MA and PhD from the University of Chicago, where her dissertation was defended with distinction. She is a former term member of CFR, and she has been a life member since 2010.

India's Role in the World

India's rise to power has led to speculation and expectations about how it will change the global order. On the one hand, India is the world's most populous country and is on track to become the world's third largest economy. Yet India is still home to the world's largest number of poor. India is also the largest and most diverse democracy, but hesitates to promote these values abroad. As the United States welcomes and supports India's rise, Americans should better understand Indians' ambitions for themselves and for their global role—ambitions that are still debated within India. In my forthcoming book, blog posts, and articles, I focus on the live debates in Indian foreign and economic policy shaping India's future course. I also convene the U.S. Relations with South Asia Roundtable Series to address the challenges and opportunities facing the U.S.-India relationship.

The New Geopolitics of China, India, and Pakistan

The emergence of China and more recently, India, has reshaped relations and produced a broader area of economic integration in Asia. Even in southern Asia, where the strategic triangle of China, India, and Pakistan has resulted in flashpoints and suspicions, both India and China have kept their sights on increasing trade and economic growth as a security imperative for the long term. However, southern Asia's security, political, and economic foundations face stresses that could profoundly alter its evolution, usher in the return of geopolitics, and reshape political and economic relations globally. This project will explore potential flashpoints and promising areas for cooperation among China, India, and Pakistan—and identify areas where the United States can help. Over the next two years, I will explore these issues with my colleagues Elizabeth Economy and Daniel Markey in the New Geopolitics of China, India, and Pakistan Roundtable Series and several publications. The project will culminate in a capstone symposium and a Council report in 2016.

The Project on the New Geopolitics of China, India, and Pakistan is made possible by a grant from the MacArthur Foundation.

All Publications

Much of the new U.S. administration’s foreign policy is a mystery, but expect broad policy continuity in U.S. relations with India while geopolitical and geoeconomic questions pull the two countries in new directions.

U.S. diplomats and policymakers need to think creatively about how best to harness the United States’ inherent advantages in South and Central Asia and thereby offset China’s overwhelming financial investments and diplomatic initiatives.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India visited President Obama, marking his second visit to the White House in two years. Like his two immediate predecessors, Obama has made special efforts to expand ties with India.

In testimony before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on May 24, 2016, Alyssa Ayres discussed areas of progress and the importance of managing expectations in U.S.-India relations. Drawing on recommendations made by the 2015 CFR Independent Task Force on U.S.-India Relations, Ayres recommended reframing the bilateral relationship as a joint venture instead of as a not-quite alliance, arguing that such a shift would allow for increased cooperation in areas of convergence without letting differences undermine progress.

In testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, Alyssa Ayres recapped the trajectory of U.S.-India economic ties over the past decade and a half, and proposed ways to take the relationship forward.

Given the complex politics of the India–Pakistan relationship, the United States does not play a role in their bilateral talks, but Washington can certainly take steps to help prevent spoilers from once again disrupting a dialogue process that deserves every chance to succeed.

India now matters to U.S. interests in virtually every dimension. This CFR-sponsored Independent Task Force Report, directed by Alyssa Ayres, assesses the current situation in India and the U.S.-India relationship, and suggests a new model for partnership with a rising India

Chinese and Indian relief efforts in the aftermath of the 2015 Nepal earthquake set a precedent for trust building between two countries whose cooperation will be crucial to the prosperity of South Asia, write CFR's Alyssa Ayres and Ashlyn Anderson.

Alyssa Ayres weighs in on Indian Prime Minister Modi’s priorities during his second tour in the United States, which includes stops in Silicon Valley to interact with U.S. tech companies and New York for the United Nations General Assembly.

A surge in Chinese economic and diplomatic involvement in South Asia poses a serious rival for Indian influence in its neighborhood, and could finally unlock the region’s potential, write Ashlyn Anderson and Alyssa Ayres.

In her testimony before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, Alyssa Ayres argued that the United States has good policies in place to cooperate with Bangladesh, including training and technical cooperation, but given the fragile situation in Bangladesh, additional assistance is necessary to combat political polarization and religious extremism.

As the international troop presence in Afghanistan shrinks, the United States and India have a shared interest in a stable future for Afghanistan. CFR Senior Fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia Alyssa Ayres writes that the United States should encourage Indian support for Afghanistan in areas of Indian expertise: democracy, economics, and civilian security.

Press/Panels

In conversation with Pramit Pal Chaudhuri and Dr. Daniel Twining and the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in New Delhi, Dr. Alyssa Ayres shares her analysis and expectations of the incoming U.S. administration with respect to India, Pakistan, and the broader region of South Asia.

Newsweek runs Alyssa Ayres' take in the wake of India's reported cross-Line of Control strike on the half-hearted, or perhaps disingenuous, efforts by Pakistan's government to address the threat of terrorism emanating from its own territory.

Commenting in an article in the Economic Times, Alyssa Ayres analyzes the rationale behind India's reported strike across the Line of Control into Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, and explains what the U.S. position will be.

Alyssa Ayres joins a panel on India Today's "Headlines Today" to discuss the dangerous threats of nuclear escalation made by Pakistan's defense minister in response to reported Indian military activity.

An article in Pakistan's leading daily, Dawn, draws from Alyssa Ayres' discussion of Punjabi intellectual Najm Hosain Syed in her book, Speaking Like a State. The article emphasizes Ayres' commentary on Syed's plays in support of her conception of Punjabi elite identity.

Alyssa Ayres writes on the crucial agreement between the U.S. and India that will clear the way logistics cooperation, and what to make of the meeting between Indian Minister of Defense Manohar Parrikar and Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter.

The Financial Times spoke to Alyssa Ayres and other South Asia experts about how the July 1 attack in Dhaka ties to the rising tensions between secularists and Islamists in Bangladesh’s political environment.

In India Abroad, Alyssa Ayres weighs in on whether the State Department will soon dissolve the office of the special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan and reinsert those countries inside the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs.

Following the terrorist attack in Pathankot, India, Business Standard mentions Alyssa Ayres's recommendation that the United States "unequivocally" press Pakistan to cut off support for all terror groups.

Following the terrorist attack in Pathankot, India, Forbes contributor Charles Tiefer mentions a blog post by Alyssa Ayres on Pakistan's duty to deal with all terrorist groups that threaten stability in the region.

India Abroad reviews the CFR Independent Task Force report, Working With a Rising India: A Joint Venture for the New Century, and unpacks Task Force co-chair Professor Joseph S. Nye's assertion that a structural realignment is currently taking place in the world.

As a part of a special package on the CFR Independent Task Force report on U.S.-India Relations, India Abroad discusses the report's finding on the influence of U.S. policy toward Pakistan on U.S.-India relations.

Following the release of the report of the CFR Independent Task Force on U.S.-India Relations, the Economic Times notes the main takeaways including the importance of maintaining high levels of economic growth and improving India's relationship with Pakistan.

Newsweek features Alyssa Ayres's Asia Unbound blog post on the prioritzation of Pakistan's military over human development of its citizens and the latest strategic transaction between the United States and Pakistan.

The Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) and the Confederation of Indian Industry introduce their new task force aimed at charting a path for India's membership into the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). ASPI President Kevin Rudd leads a discussion on the advantages and impediments to India's entry with Ajay Banga, Shyam Saran, Alyssa Ayres, Fred Bergsten, and Chandrajit Banerjee.(1 hr., 53 min.)

Zee News highlights Alyssa Ayres's testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific regarding the political and religious extremism in Bangladesh.

Prothom Alo mentions Alyssa Ayres's participation in a U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific hearing on political and religious extremism in Bangladesh.

In Bloomberg View, Alyssa Ayres comments on the constraints on aid programs in Pakistan following the announcement of Warren Weinstein's accidental death from a U.S. drone strike while he was being held hostage.

The Diplomat mentions Alyssa Ayres's Policy Innovation Memorandum, "Why the United States Should Work With India to Stabilize Afghanistan," in an article that discusses Indian and Pakistani involvment in Afghanistan.

A leading Bangladeshi newspaper, Kaler Kantho (Bengali), featured a translation of Alyssa Ayres’s recent Huffington Post India article on the assassinations of atheist bloggers on the front page of its Sunday edition, April 5, 2015.

IBNLive.com cites a blog post on CFR's Asia Unbound by Alyssa Ayres, which looks at Indian language enrollments in the United States following the release of the Modern Language Association's quadrennial survey.

For the Economic Times, Alyssa Ayres says the new Indian government views economic growth as the most important vehicle to eradicate poverty, and recognizes increasing economic opportunities with the United States.

In advance of Obama's trip to India, the Asia Society Policy Institute asks leading experts to give their thoughts on the bilateral agenda and what might be accomplished during the summit. Alyssa Ayres writes that both leaders should set their sights on a more ambitious agenda.

Alyssa Ayres's Policy Innovation Memorandum arguing that the United States should support India's membership in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperaton (APEC) forum is cited in the Times of India following Chinese president Xi Jinping's invitation to India's prime minister Modi to attend the next APEC meeting.

After Chinese president Xi Jinping extended an invitation to Indian prime minister Modi to attend the next Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting, Alyssa Ayres's Policy Innovation Memorandum arguing that the United States should support India's membership in APEC is cited by Reuters.

In a piece highlighting the U.S. reaction to the Indian election results in the Hindustan Times, Alyssa Ayres says that the United States should focus on Narendra Modi's top campaign issue--trade and economics--rather than his past.

Alyssa Ayres moderates a Google Hangout discussion on the likely foreign and economic priorities of the next Indian government. Panelists include Indrani Bagchi, senior diplomatic editor of the Times of India; Manjeet Kripalani, founder and executive director of Gateway House; and Radha Kumar, director-general of the Delhi Policy Group.

Alyssa Ayres serves as a panelist in an event convened by Asia Society in New York alongside the former prime minister of Pakistan, China's ambassador to the U.S., senior vice president for Asian and Japan chair at CSIS, Singapore's ambassador to the U.S., and the CEO for Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Americas at Standard Chartered. The panel discussion was part of a half-day forum marking the formal launch of the Asia Society Policy Institute.

More than 800 million Indians are expected to cast their vote in a phased general election that many polls predict will significantly reshape the country's parliament. There are three things to know about the largest exercise of democracy in world history, says Alyssa Ayres.

Ahead of the Ananta Aspen Centre's "Growth Net" international forum, Alyssa Ayres previews her thoughts on the role of government in India and U.S.-India collaboration in a pre-conference interview with Ping Network.

CFR's Alyssa Ayres appears on the Wall Street Journal Live "OpinionJournal" to explain the limits of free speech in India after Penguin India decided to withdraw from the market Wendy Doniger's book, The Hindus: An Alternative History.

In the Wall Street Journal, Alyssa Ayres comments on the U.S. decision to establish contact with Narendra Modi, the Bharatiya Janata Party's candidate for prime minister, and the Indian court decision not to prosecute Modi due to insufficient evidence of his involvement in the 2002 Gujarat communal riots.

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In conversation with Pramit Pal Chaudhuri and Dr. Daniel Twining and the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in New Delhi, Dr. Alyssa Ayres shares her analysis and expectations of the incoming U.S. administration with respect to India, Pakistan, and the broader region of South Asia.

Alyssa Ayres joins a panel on India Today's "Headlines Today" to discuss the dangerous threats of nuclear escalation made by Pakistan's defense minister in response to reported Indian military activity.